chuck and the bedlam
by batty02
Summary: Chuck drops out of Stanford after the loss of a friend, while pondering his options fate intervenes and a myth is born. Sarah wonders who saved her and how does a American guy become...
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone,**

**This is an AU story i wanted to say thank you to ESARDI for working tirelessly on this project.  
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**Before we get to the story i want to make something clear this story started at a sporting goods store with the purchase of a knife made by bench made under contract to a man who asked them to make this blade. when i picked it up i said whoa... i had to know everything about it, and that lead to me writing this story now what i wrote as an opening scene will come later. Esardi just sent this to me saying that to understand where chuck is now we have to know where he's been.  
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**please review if you the people like it we will continue it if not ...  
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**This Story is going to be different i am not going to say anything more but this we go through life we can help those around us or hinder them the choice is ours to make.  
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**I do not own Chuck.  
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**with that said i present chuck and the bedlam  
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Bedlam

Chapter one

**Stanford 2002**

So far Chuck's senior year was going fantastically. Four courses and eight weeks, man it could not get here fast enough. He had it all good friends a girlfriend that he was thinking more and more could possibly be the one, and his best friend and roommate Bryce Larkin.

Speaking of Bryce, he had been acting kind of weird lately. If he did not know any better, he would think that he was more an enemy than his best friend. Ever since he took that subliminal retention test he had just not been the same. It was just a contest for god's sake he did not have to act like that. Bryce had kept bragging to everyone who would listen how he had scored the highest of anyone who had taken Flemings stupid little test.

So what if he started laughing when he told him his score of 81% was really great, you think he won the lottery or something. It was his own damn fault that he challenged Chuck to do better. Sure Chuck could have let it go, but Bryce had embarrassed Chuck in front of Jill when he told her that Chuck was not boyfriend material. Why would he say something like that? He could not excuse Bryce even though he was drunk. That had led to an argument that came close to blows.

After that there was this distancing themselves from each other, like their friendship was a mistake and the nearly four years they had spent with each other should never have occurred. They never ran together anymore, never played video games like they used to. It was Bryce who had gotten him involved with Tia Chi; it was Chuck who had cheered Bryce on in boxing even becoming his manager and trainer.

Bryce had returned the favor and became his personal trainer when Chuck took up rowing; however, Chuck really got into the kendo sticks. Bryce had once mentioned to Chuck that he had never seen anyone who was better at it then Chuck. They had been buddies through thick and thin. Chuck would stay up all night sometimes making sure Bryce was properly prepped for his political science classes and Bryce was there when he got sick and needed someone to get Chuck back to health.

Hell they were each other's wing man. Chuck had been in one too many brawls when Bryce decided to hit on the football players girlfriends and ended up going on double dates just so Bryce could get some action with a particular girl. To call their relationship just best buddies would be a lie. It was more like brothers. They talked in Klingon, which drove everyone crazy; they made their own version of Zork. So what the hell was up with him anyway?

His attitude really sucked recently and Chuck needed to know what was going on with him. Maybe he should apologize for scoring so high on that stupid test. What was it he got 98.9%? Chuck did not even know what the big deal was or why Fleming kept looking at him in awe. Chuck shrugged his shoulders, 'No big deal,' He thought. It was just a shame that their friendship had hit such a bumpy stretch.

Chuck was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a knock on the door, "Come in," Jim Collins his frat brother needed to talk to Chuck.

"Hey Chuck how are you man."

"Hey Jim what's happening." Chuck said this as they both bumped fists.

"Look I came in looking for you this afternoon and saw something strange you need to know about."

"Ok."

Jim looked around, "Is Bryce here?"

"No, Jim what is going on?"

"Well when I came in, I saw Bryce placing something inside your bed."

"Inside my bed?"

"Yeah he had taken the mattress and box spring off and placed what looked like a lot of papers inside the wood part of your bed."

"What the hell?"

"Yeah Chuck that is what I thought too, he acted real nervous after I saw him and thought you should know."

Chuck jumped off his bed, "You want to give me a hand Jim?"

"Sure."

When they turned over the mattress they were both shocked. "Chuck that looks like test papers." Said Jim.

Chuck took a closer look, "These are the final test for several courses. Here is Psychology, Calculus II, and History. My god this looks bad."

"It looks like you were being setup Chuck. All Bryce would have to do is go to the Dean of Students and accuse you of cheating. With this evidence they would have taken his word for it."

Now Bryce's recent behavior was making so much more sense. "Thanks Jim you just saved my butt man, I don't know how to thank you."

"If you need me as a witness all you have to do is ask."

"Let me talk to my girlfriend, Jill is always giving me good advice, I want her opinion before I do anything else."

**Jill's Apartment**

When Chuck got to Jill's apartment the first thing he noticed was a car that looked like Bryce's in the parking lot. Chuck went to knock on the door but found it was not all the way locked. When he went into her room Chuck heard the shower running.

He approached the bathroom cautiously, there was moaning going on, however, Jill had a roommate and Mary was known to be pretty loose when it came to men. The last thing he intended to do was go in there and it turn out to be her roommate and friend. Chuck was about to turn to leave when he heard the unmistakable voice of Bryce Larkin say, "Jill I love your perfect breasts." It was like getting hit by a Mack Truck. Chuck's breath left him temporarily he could not believe that the woman he was seriously considering taking the next step with was cheating on him.

Chuck finally regained his composure and as reality hit he wrote Jill a short note that was to the point but said everything that he needed to be said. "Did not want to interrupt your shower, have a nice life." Chuck needed to purge everything that was Stanford from his life at that moment. As he walked out of that apartment in many ways he was cutting ties with many things including his now ex-girlfriend and once best friend.

**Student Dean's Office **

Chuck and Jim walked into Dean's Anderson's Office. Dean Anderson knew Chuck quite well; he had been consistently in the Dean's honor roll. Best of all he was going to be summa cum laude of his graduation class assuming he did as well with his current classes as he had throughout his four years at Stanford.

"Chuck, what a surprise, come in my boy."

Chuck walked in and numbly and placed all of the stolen tests that he had brought in a box in front of him.

"What is this Chuck?"

"Stolen final exams Dean Anderson."

That got the Dean's attention, "Where did you get this from?"

"Underneath my bed."

Dean Anderson looked gravely at Chuck, "Would you care to elaborate?"

"I will let my good friend Jim Collins explain."

"I saw Bryce Larkin place those tests under Chuck's bed, he wasn't expecting me and tried to pretend that he was looking for something but I knew better."

"Why would he do something like that?"

Chuck answered, "He has been acting weird for a while now, I thought he was my friend, however, this clearly indicates otherwise. I believe his intentions were to set me up."

"But why Chuck, why would he do such a thing?"

"Maybe you could ask him when he comes out of my girlfriends shower. Sorry I meant EX girlfriend." Said Chuck through gritted teeth.

Both Jim and Dean Anderson's eyes widen in shock. "Look Dean Anderson, I am leaving Stanford for a while, I...I need to get away, the further away the better."

"Chuck please reconsider your decision, you are so close to obtaining your degree, it would be ashamed for you to leave now." Said the Dean.

"Right now sir I cannot concentrate on anything, there are too many deceptions, too many lies for me to deal with. Don't worry Dean I intend to finish my degree; I just do not know if it is going to be here."

"Chuck is there anything I can say to change your mind?"

"I am afraid not sir." Chuck stood up and shook the Dean's hand, "It has been a pleasure knowing you sir."

"I really am sorry Chuck, don't worry we will handle Mr. Larkin and take him to task for his transgressions."

**Outside the Dean's Office**

Jim was misty eyed, he was saying goodbye to one of the best people he had ever had the pleasure of knowing.

"Damn Chuck, I am going to miss you man." Jim said this as he was giving Chuck a goodbye hug.

"It has been a pleasure knowing you Jim. I want to thank you from preventing me from getting kicked out of school for cheating."

"Where are you heading to now?"

"I called my sister Ellie and briefly explained my situation to her. You know Ellie Jim; she had a million questions for me. At least she took pity on me and she told me I could move in back with her a while."

"I am really sorry for everything that happened to you my friend. I only wish the best for you."

"Listen Jim I think I took everything but there was a couple of Computer Engineering books I was not able to find, if you can could you please look for them?"

"Sure buddy, you want me to send them to you?"

"No if you do find them just call me and I will come back and get them. Besides I want to properly say goodbye to the gang, by that time Larkin's sorry ass should be out of here."

"You know it; hopefully I will see you soon again."

"Take care Jim."

**Jill's Apartment**

As soon as Bryce kissed Jill one more time and left she rushes to the bathroom and brush her teeth. She then took the bottle of scope and gurgled five times, finally she jumped in the shower again and scrubbed as hard as she could, nothing could take the stink of one Bryce Larkin off her no matter how hard she scrubbed.

Jill felt nauseated, what Fulcrum had ordered her to do disgust her. More and more she was starting to realize what a bad idea it had been to join this organization, but what could she do? Their not so subtle threats against her family made it more than clear that if she did not follow their orders her family would be immediately eliminated. That bastard that was in charge of her cell was cold and heartless.

She picked up the phone and called her superior, Leader immediately answered, "Report."

"Sir you were correct about Larkin, apparently Dr. Fleming is some sort of recruit for the CIA. Larkin took a subliminal retention test and he scored very high."

"Do you believe him?"

"One thing that jerk can do better than anyone else is to talk about how great he is. There is no reason to doubt what he says is true, however, we need to check Dr. Flemings office just to make sure."

"Agreed, make it happen agent and report back to me as soon as you find out."

"Yes sir."

As Jill was drying her hair with her towel she noticed a note on her table for the first time. She read it and she gasp as her hand shot to her mouth; she rushed to her cell phone and called Chuck. The call went to voice mail. When three more calls failed to get Chuck to answer her calls, Jill finally left him a message, "Chuck please call me."

That is when it finally dawned on Jill the consequences of her actions today. She had lost Chuck...her Chuck, the one that she had hoped would one day be the father of her children ...gone. Jill broke down and cried, more like sobbed uncontrollably. 'What had she done?' She knew Chuck. Jill knew more than anyone else how Chuck felt about abandonment and betrayal. His parents were great examples of that. What she had done today would be the ultimate betrayal in his eyes. It would be something that he would never forgive nor forget. Jill realized at that moment that she was dead in Chuck's eyes. For as long as she lived Jill would regret this moment, the moment she lost the best thing that had ever happened in her life.

**Chuck and Bryce's room**

Bryce was feeling pretty smug with himself; he had finally had sex with the elusive Jill Roberts. Frankly he was surprised the she had fallen for his charm so easily, she had outright rejected him at every turn. Jill had even laughed at him the last time he had attempted to make a pass at her and embarrassed Chuck. If Bryce had been thinking clearly he would have realized that he had just been played.

However, Bryce Larkin was instead too busy gloating, he finally had something over on Charles Bartowski and he intended to rub it in his face. Best yet was after he absolutely humiliated him he was going to finish him off by getting him kicked out of Stanford for cheating. How great was that?

He would make an example of Chuck for always coming second. He was tired of all the accolades that Chuck had received academically, furthermore, that little side bet he stupidly had made with him had cost him dearly. If he had not moved fast Chuck would have been the name forwarded by Dr. Fleming for the Omaha project and not him. Bryce Larkin had worked hard to get recognized, he knew what kind of test Fleming had and had studied hard even though that was against the rules. Bryce knew that the grade he got was probably not indicative of his real retention score but he did not care. Bryce knew once he was in he would be accepted even though he might not qualify for the project.

Therefore, when Chuck walked in there not even bothering to find out what this test was about and be done so quickly and score so highly, Bryce just lost it. He had to get Chuck kicked out for cheating if he was to successfully discredit him. Sure there was a part of him that knew what he was doing had just destroyed a great friendship, but we were talking about the rest of his life here. People like Chuck Bartowski would come and go but a great life as a spy, now that was a once in a lifetime deal.

Bryce's phone buzzed, he knew who it was before he even picked it up. "Larkin secure."

"Mr. Larkin," Came the not so gentle voice of Langston Graham. "What the hell did you just do?"

"Sir I do not understand."

"I just got word from our sources at Stanford; you are being kicked out for setting up a fellow student for cheating!"

"What! I did no such a thing?"

"Well apparently a Mr. Bartowski went to the Dean's Office with a box full of tests claiming that you planted them under his bed to make it look like he was cheating."

"How did he..." 'Shit Jim Collins.'

"I will take care of this misunderstanding sir."

"See that you do Mr. Larkin, this agency has no use for recruits who get kicked out of school!"

Bryce knew he was in real trouble, but what to do? He had a pretty good idea of the Stanford by laws and how he could defend himself against an accusation like this; however, he had to read up a little more before he could formulate his plan to save himself from expulsion.

**Casa Bartowski**

In many ways Chuck deeply dreaded coming home. He loved his sister, he truly did. In many ways she was more his mother than his sister. However, when she started with the interrogation sessions he would just as soon tape her mouth shut then to listen to her go on and on. Now he knew that he would get the 'I told you so,' litany that was sure to followed. Ellie had only met Jill a handful of times but she never liked her. Ellie had warned Chuck over and over about how she thought that Jill was holding back, how she really did not sense that she was the one for Chuck. Ok so maybe she was right, but he really did not feel the need to be told just how right she had been. He got it in one.

When Ellie opened the door for her brother, Chuck was met with a very emotional sister. With tears freely falling she hugged her brother tightly. "I am so sorry Chuck." Ellie whispered.

"Thank you Ellie, I am just glad that I have you. I need to clear my mind and I need a place to crash and get my bearings for a few days." Chuck pulled back a gave his sister a weak smile before he kissed her forehead.

Ellie pulled Chuck to the couch sat him down and wanted the whole story. Before he began Devon came into the room. "Hey bro."

Chuck really liked Devon; he was the complete opposite of his sister, someone who was not judgmental. He was easy going, however, that is where people made the fatal mistake and misjudged him. Devon was not just the air head frat boy who thought more about windsurfing and sports than he did about life. He was brilliant too; the guy was a surgeon after all. He use to bristle when someone which included Morgan made fun of Devon, just how stupid were these people after all, did they think you could become a heart surgeon with no effort, no long nights studying your butt off. He certainly had not earned in degree in the supply closet that was for damn sure. Devon was just the type of guy who could give you decent advice without brow beating you, he would take that any day compared to what surely awaited him.

Oh Chuck was not fooled even a little bit by his sister show of concern. He had seen that act once too many times, He could write a book about Ellie interrogation tactics 101. Show the victim concern and then go for the kill, so when she dragged him to the couch he was well aware of what was coming, 'Let the inquisition begin.'

"Devon!" Chuck stood shook his soon to be brother in law hand while he noticed his sister annoyed foot tapping on the floor. Yeah Ellie wanted to get the show on the road and Devon was interfering.

Ellie turned to Devon, "Could you give us a little privacy sweetheart, I need to talk to Chuck about a delicate matter."

Chuck was waiting for that particular move and interceded before she could succeed. "No Ellie, Devon is like a brother whatever I tell you, I can also say to Devon."

"Fine!" Ellie gritted her teeth "Devon sit."

Oh Chuck was going to have some fun with his sister. "Ellie, Devon is not dog for you to command! I need him next to me, we bro's need to stick together."

Chuck knew he was pushing her buttons but he did not care, he really did need Devon's support. Devon for his part smiled broadly at Chuck and his tactics. Chuck then went to tell them both what happened, including the gory details of the bathroom scene and the visit to the Dean's Office.

Devon frowned, something he never did however, before Chuck had a chance to ask Devon Ellie jumped in with both feet.

"Sonofabitch! That bastard was going to frame you!"

"Yes El I am aware."

"And...And how many times did I tell you Jill was not the one for you!"

"El..."

"Do you listen to me?"

"El..."

"No Chuck, this happens to you every time you ignore my advice."

"El!"

Devon decided to step in before they said something to each other that they would regret. "Chuck let's go and have a drink."

"Devon, stay out of our business!"

"Babe you need to calm down, Chuck has gone through enough, and he does not need to be berated by his sister on top of that!"

"Come on Chuck, let's go!"

It was a good thing Devon stepped in when he did, Chuck's jaw was tight and rigid, he was ready to jump down his sister's throat, frankly Ellie did not know when to shut up.

**The Varsity Sports Bar & Lounge**

Chuck and Devon were seated at the bar having a beer. Chuck had to admit that the change in scenery and company had a calming effect on him.

"So, bro tell me, have you given any thought as to what you are going to do now?"

"I just want to hang around a few weeks, clear my head and then register again and finish my Computer Engineering degree."

"That sounds like a plan," Said Devon.

"Devon I want to ask you for a favor."

"Sure bro what is it?"

"You still have your connections in UCLA?"

"Don't tell me!" Devon laughed and clapped Chuck in the back. "You thinking about finishing up your degree in UCLA?"

"More like joining the dark side," Chuck laughed back.

"Well Chuck, I am glad you are finally seeing the light. Sure bro I will hook you up with a counselor friend of mine, you should have no problems registering for classes when ever you are ready."

"Well it is eight weeks until this semester ends, and another two weeks during the Christmas break. Therefore, I should be back in the saddle right after that."

"Well Chuck I just hope you realize that you have a place to stay as long as you need it right?"

"Thank you Devon, you may not be officially family yet but I consider you my real brother."

"Hey bud what you went through really sucks, if you cannot depend on family for support then when?"

"Well you know how much I appreciate what you just did. I know you are going to catch hell for it. Man I love my sister but sometimes she lets her mouth get away from her. I have to admit that if you had not pulled me out when you did I was just about to blow up and let her have it."

"Yeah your body language was a dead giveaway."

Chuck chuckled and for a moment they each paused in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Finally Devon spoke up, "You know Chuck something you said to me has me thinking. Did the Dean or anyone else take your statement in writing?"

"No why?"

"Well for the simple fact that if there is nothing official in writing, then until it happens Bryce will not be expelled. What I am trying to get at is that this Bryce character is showing he is willing to go to great lengths to get what he wants. The only real incriminating evidence against him is Jim Collins."

"So?"

"Jim Collins is the only person that can place Bryce with the stolen tests and your bed."

The light bulb finally switched on. "Hold it you think that Bryce is capable of hurting Jim?"

"Well you know him better than I do. In your mind is Larkin desperate enough to do something like that?"

Chuck reached for his cell phone immediately, "I will be right back."

Chuck called Jim, "Come on, come on pick up," Unfortunately the call went to voice mail. "Jim when you get a chance call me."

"Well?" Asked Devon.

"It went to voice mail."

"Hmm..."

"Now you have me worried."

"I...I just, I don't know when you started to tell me that story I just got a creepy feeling all of the sudden."

"Well Devon since you mentioned it my spidey senses have been going wild to. Larkin changed so much you just would not believe it. I am not going to rest until I get a hold of Jim."

**Frat House Stanford**

Chuck's and Devon's sixth sense had been absolutely spot on. The only problem was that Bryce Larkin had figured out the same thing. He had been desperate to get a hold of Jim Collins to see what he could do to change his mind. He went to his room; however, he was not there. His room mate told Bryce that Jim was visiting his mother.

Bryce decided to call Jim and the venom with which Jim had told him off made it crystal clear that he did not have a chance in hell of changing his mind. However, this situation was getting out of control for Bryce. He was getting desperate; Bryce needed to stop this now before it spiraled out of control for him.

All Bryce was going to do was talk to Jim reason with him. If he needed to he would pull out the patriotism card. Jim was riding his favorite Kawasaki; he was heading back to the frat house when Bryce pulled up next to him in his older model Lexus. "Jim I need to talk to you."

Jim pulled over, "What do you want Bryce?" Said Jim bitterly.

"Why did you and Chuck go to see the Dean? Why did you not talk to me first? Doesn't it mean any to you that we are Frat Brothers?"

Jim got in Larkin's face, "What it means you backstabbing bastard is that you are going to pay for planting those tests on Chuck. On Monday I will officially make my statement in writing to the Dean and then you are outta here!"

"You can't do that!"

Jim put his helmet back on, "Watch me."

He started his bike up and left, "No!"

Bryce started his car up and started to chase Jim. He was dangerously close to him and rammed his car into the bumper of his motor cycle. Jim yelled back, "Are you crazy!"

However, that is what Bryce was at that moment, he could not afford to be expelled or he would lose everything, so he rammed Jim's bike once again. This time the force of the hit made Jim lose control and send his motor cycle right into incoming traffic. The driver of the car that hit Jim tried in vain to avoid him but could not. Everyone's tire squealed as the driver hit his breaks. The force of the impact caused Jim to slam into the windshield of the vehicle that hit him. Bryce rushed out of the area as fast as he could.

Bryce did realize that he needed to get the dents off his car where he had hit Jim's bike, he made the call to a chop-shop that he knew about and did some side work for the CIA. He gave the owner a meaningless story. These guys were used to lies, therefore, they did not ask any further questions and got to working on the car immediately. Bryce would have his car back the next day.

**Flemings Office **

A small figure dressed completely in black was getting prepared to enter the professor's office. Jill knew full well this was not going to be easy breaking into his office. He was a CIA operative. Fleming would have the state of the art security. As soon as she entered, Jill flicked on her night vision goggles on and sure enough a series of red lasers covered a certain part in his office.

The bad thing about this security system is that it marked the spot where the information was located. Jill got close to the spot on the wall took out a special device aimed it and pressed a button. The device fired a small EMP pulse that disabled the security system for a short time. Jill worked feverishly and finally managed to open up the safe.

When she started to review the documents she was not all that surprised that Bryce had lied to her but was shocked at who was the prime candidate was. The picture of the beautiful man she loved more then life itself was front and center. Jill knew he was brilliant but this was highly impressive. At that moment Jill made a life altering decision, one that would affect the lives of many people.

As tears streaked down her cheeks, "I have already betrayed you enough my loved, I will not betray you again." She whispered to herself. Jill destroyed all evidence concerning Chuck and his test scores. "We won't get you and neither will they." Jill then turned her attention to Fleming's computer and made sure the drive was destroyed, then she did one more thing to cover her tracks, Jill laid down an accelerant and as she left Flemings Office as she set it off and it caught fire quickly.

She stood at a safe distance as Jill knew that what was in that safe would not be damaged. Bryce Larkin was sure to be the number one target for both Fulcrum and the CIA. Jill owed it to Chuck. Oh she knew that Fleming would run off his big mouth about Chuck, but without the data to back him up the likely hood that they would seek him out would drop significantly. Yes, she had just set the dear doctors research back years, Jill chuckled she was actually proud of her spy work that night.

Jill called Leader who immediately picked up the phone, "Report."

"Sir Larkin was telling the truth, he was the one that scored the highest in Fleming's subliminal test. This means they have no candidate for their intersect project."

"Good."

"Oh one more thing sir, I burned down Flemings Office, I thought it would be a nice touch to set him back in his research."

"Excellent Agent, take some time off you have earned it."

**Memorial ****Hospital**

When Chuck heard what had happened he had rushed to the hospital. There he ran into Jim's mother Martha and his sister Denise. They were huddled in a corner both trying to counsel each other. Ellie had come with Chuck, and he asked her if she could go find out what was going on from the doctors.

"Ok Chuck I will do my best, however, sometimes they will not cooperate." With that Ellie disappeared she was going to attempt to find out the status of one Jim Collins.

Chuck went over to Jim's mom and sister, they both knew Chuck, and he was a good friend of Jim's.

"Can you tell me what happened to Jim?"

"The Officer on the scene said that my brother was struck from behind by another vehicle, making him lose control of his motor cycle. Oh Chuck I am so scared," Cried his sister Denise.

Just then Ellie returned from talking to the doctor and motioned to Chuck.

"What is it sis?" Chuck whispered to Ellie.

When Ellie wrapped her arms around Chuck and held him tight, he knew that the news would not be good. "Chuck I am so sorry." Whispered Ellie. "Jim is brain dead." Chuck pulled back from Ellie his eyes immediately watering.

When the doctor came in Chuck's heart was broken as he watched Jim's mom and sister sob uncontrollably, Jim Collins was no more, in the morning they would decide to turn off the life support.

**Dean's Anderson's Office**

The charges were read to Bryce, however, they did not mean much as the only person who actually saw him planting the evidence was for all intend and purposes dead.

Bryce actually had a smug look in his face as one of the members of the board of regions gave Dean Anderson his opinion on what actions should be taken against him.

"Dean Anderson, the evidence is irrefutable, however, without Mr. Collins here to verify that Mr. Larkin was the one he saw placing the tests in Mr. Bartowski's bed we would have no choice but to find in favor of Mr. Larkin."

Dean Anderson just glares at Bryce Larkin. He was convinced just like Chuck had that Larkin had a hand in causing Jim Collins death. Bryce for his part refused to look at the Dean as he knew that without Collins corroboration of the evidence he was home free.

**Frat House Stanford**

In the week that followed Jim Collins funeral Chuck had been extremely depressed. Not Morgan, Ellie or Devon could get Chuck out of his funk. He had drunk himself to sleep three out of the five days. Chuck felt horrible, not only did Jim save Chuck from being expelled but had lost his life in the process. There was only one reason for all this heartache, Chuck had heard from other Frat brothers that Bryce was now joking around and having a good time like nothing had happened.

That is when all that build up hatred he had for Bryce Larkin started spilling over like a Mount St Helens explosion. Chuck was never a violent man, however, everything that had happen the last month Jill, the setup and his friends death was causing Chuck a serious anger problem. For the first time in his life Chuck hated someone. It was not only that he wanted to confront him; Chuck started dreaming of seriously hurting him and could not let it go.

Chuck had tried everything, all nighters with Morgan, working out with Devon, even going to a gym and pounding the hell out of a heavy bag, however; nothing worked. That was when like a sign from heaven a call was all it took for a collision course to take place between Chuck and Bryce.

Bob Stevens, Jim's roommate was emptying out Jim's room so he could ship it to his mom. That is when he ran into two books that belonged to Chuck. Apparently Jim had been looking for them all along. It gave Chuck the perfect reason why he needed to go back to the Frat house. As he stepped in the very first thing Chuck heard was Bryce boisterous voice making some stupid challenge to someone in their group. However, the plain fact was no one wanted to play pool with him or do anything else with Bryce for that matter. He had become a pariah and was mostly shunned by the group.

Bryce had taken a swig of his beer and was lining up the next shot on the pool table and did not notice who had come in. Bryce took a shot and just before it went into the right corner pocket Chuck intercepted it.

"Do you feel like playing Bryce?" Chuck said in a very menacing tone. One of the two freshman decided to run next door to try to get help, he just knew something very bad was about to happen between the Ex best friends.

Bryce was momentarily shocked but quickly recovered. "Well if it isn't the quitter, tell me have you seen Jill?" Bryce sneered.

Chuck fire the pool ball at Bryce and hit him in the leg. Bryce howled in pain stepped back and attacked Chuck with the cue stick. Chuck ducked a couple of swings but finally Bryce connected across Chuck's left arm. When Bryce tried to hit him again, however, Chuck managed to grab the cue stick and they both began struggling and hitting each other with anything they could find. Bryce hit Chuck in the face and knocked him back against the rack holding a bunch of cue sticks.

Bryce thought he had the upper hand and was ready to deliver a deadly blow when Chuck stood up with his own pool stick. He smiled at Bryce, "I see you like playing with sticks," Chuck snapped the pool stick in half with his knee, "Let's play."

It was Chuck's turn to attack Bryce. He was in his element and Bryce quickly realized he was no match against Chuck as he welded those sticks like he was born with them. Bryce got hit in the face, shoulder, arm and finally in the chest. The blow had him going down and grabbing the pool table with his left hand. Chuck swung violently and smashed his fingers with the stick.

Bryce went down in a heap withering in pain, however, Chuck viewed Bryce as an all consuming evil that did not deserve to live, he methodically measured Bryce for a final blow when he was tackled by two fraternity brothers that got there just in time. "Chuck get a hold of yourself!"

Chuck wanted Bryce so bad at that moment he could taste it and it took several guys to hold him down. "Get Bryce outta here!"

Chuck yelled at Bryce as he was leaving, "This is not over between us Bryce, not by a long shot!"

They kept Chuck at the Frat House until he finally cooled off. Bryce was taken to the hospital, he was really a mess needing stitches and his left pinky and ring finger were broken.

**Somewhere in DC**

No one would file charges that night especially Bryce. There was no way that he would ever admit to Graham or anyone else that one man got the better of him. If Bryce thought that Chuck would eventually forget and move on he was soon reminded that was not the case.

Two days after graduation, Bryce received a phone call from Chuck. "One day Bryce," said Chuck through gritted teeth, "One of these days somewhere somehow we will meet again and when we do there will not be anyone there to save you!"

Chuck had made that call after the police were able to determine that the vehicle that had caused Jim's death was black, Bryce Larkin had a black Lexus. However, they would never be able to check Bryce's vehicle since it had been mysteriously stolen.

As Bryce Larkin hung up the phone that night one thing was crystal clear Chuck Bartowski was forever more his mortal enemy.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello everyone,**

**I was going to say something catchy here but i will not. i dont own chuck.**

**Please if you enjoyed this chapter**

** Please Direct all the praise to ESARDI he wrote it PM him and please Reveiws, **

**this story is flying by the seat of the pants i don't even know were where we are going.**

**Esardi Could use some Positive words he caught a cold so he's under the weather at the molment.**

**In other Exiting news the temprature in Prudhoe Bay was high temprature of (-21) and with the wind chill its only a warm( -41) and they got the first rays of sunlight in 5 months two weeks ago.**

**batty02**

**with out further ado chapter 2 of bedlam**

Chuck and the Bedlam Chapter 2

**Casa Bartowski**

Since his threatening phone call to Bryce, Chuck started to settle down and concentrate on his future. Devon had gotten back to him on the adviser he needed to see at UCLA. He had a limited time to register if he was going to attend school during the winter semester. Thank god he had just enough money to be able to pay for his final classes. He had his good buddy Morgan to thank for that.

Morgan had given Chuck leads that had led to a series of customers that had lined up for his side computer work. It was a little tedious, however, in less than four hours daily he was bringing in 4 times more money than he ever would have made working for the Buymore. That was another thing he was grateful for. Ellie had once again overstepped her bounds and inquired from Big Mike if there was an opening at the Buymore, 'was she kidding?'

Seriously, they had not been getting along that well at all. She kept meddling in his affairs and they had arguments that were clearly heard by the neighbors. She just wanted what was best for him as long as she approved. Yeah, that was not working for him at all.

So what if he liked to hit the bar scene once in a while, what was wrong with that. Now it seemed that if it was not an Ellie approved setup date, these girls were simply sluts. The women she had set him up with all seemed to have a common theme, take over his life, do what they say and mold him into their vision of what a husband should be. No wonder they all liked Ellie so much, 'they all thought the same!'

Ellie and Chuck had reached a crossroads so of speak, she would not let him forget the mistake that was Jill and he could not wait to get away from her.

Chuck was busy shaving and singing along with to the music that was blaring from his iPod; he was one hell of a singer. He was doing a duet with Mariah Carey and her rendition of the song 'Hero,' when his cell phone started to buzz. Chuck looked at the phone and saw a number he did not know, he was going to ignore it but then thought better of it and answered, "Hello."

"Chuck?" He signed, it was Ellie.

"What are you doing calling me from this phone El?"

"That is why I am calling you, I left me cell phone in my room, you think that you could bring it by the Hospital?"

"Sure El, I am going to be a little late though?"

"Why?"

"Because of my Kendo Classes."

"Honestly Chuck why in the world do you keep taking those classes, didn't it get you in enough trouble already."

"Listen El I like those classes it is a good way to stay in shape, I am not going to miss this class because you want your phone, just wait a couple of hours and I will take it to you."

"You need to grow up Chuck!"

He started turning red with anger, "And you need to stop bitching at me El, it is really starting to get annoying!" He hung up before he said something else that he would later regret.

**Westside Health Center 3 hours later **

The King and Queen of Jordan had been visiting Los Angeles, they visited a highly recommended restaurant and had been eating sea food when the Queen had contracted a severe case of Salmonella poisoning.

The King of Jordan had many enemies in the Arab world. The Fundamentalist abhorred his relationship with the US Government. He was one of the primary targets of al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations in the region. Government sponsored terrorists Countries like Syria and Iran would not mind seeing Abdullah II die.

Queen Rania was a very beautiful woman and highly recognizable. When she was rushed into the emergency room Ellie made sure she received the proper treatment. The Queen had severe abdominal cramping, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Symptoms usually begin about eight to 48 hours after ingestion of the bacteria.

That was what was so disconcerting; her reaction had been almost immediate. Salmonella can be transferred to humans by many routes, for example, unwashed fruits, vegetables and nuts, uncooked or undercooked meats and eggs, contaminated water. Obviously she had been targeted as a way of separating the Queen from the rest of the family. The King who needed to attend several meetings with State Department officials would not do so until he knew the status of his wife, however, he would not be allowed in while she was being treated in the emergency room.

Agent Joseph who was in charge of security for the King and Queen of Jordan felt a personal responsibility for what he considered a failure to protect a member of the Royal family.

اعذرنى يا ملك, ينبغى له ان يعرف, ان الغذاء زيت الطعام.

("Forgive me my King, I should have known and made sure the food was edible.")

King Abdullah II looked at his protector, long time body guard and friend and said.

كنت قلقة كثيرا جوزيف, هذا كان مجرد حادث

( "You worry too much Joseph, this was just an accident.")

اذا كان فلماذا لم يؤثر فقط على الملكة

("If it was then why did it only affect the Queen?")

King Abdullah II had long ago learned the hard way never to ignore Joseph's intuitions. Upon his arrival to West Side Medical he discovered the place was organized chaos. The King was escorted to the emergency room where the Queen had been stabilized and resting comfortably. Ellie was summoned and she explained what had occurred.

"Right now she has an IV for fluids because of the dehydration the vomiting that the poisoning caused her. Also, this small bag right here is a cocktail of antibiotics that are often used to eliminate infections." She told the King.

"How long do you anticipate that she might have to stay here?" Asked the King.

"No more than a couple of days. Do not worry King Abdullah she is in good hands." She smiled warmly.

King Abdullah II was a very good judge of character; he instinctly knew he could trust Ellie. He turned to Joseph and whispered in his ear.

تأكد من أنها الطبيب الملكة طالما انها تبقى هنا

("Make sure she is the doctor for the Queen as long as she stays here.")

Joseph just bowed affirmatively.

It really is amazing how quickly things can get done when you are an important dignitary. Within the hour the Queen had her own private room, there were for diplomatic reasons two LA police officers stationed at her door and Ellie found herself the private doctor of the Queen of Jordan no matter how much she had protested. There were two unhappy people as a smiling King left for his meeting, Ellie who thought that this was over kill and could be handled by any competent doctor and Joseph who had a bad feeling about the security provided.

The Queen had three children, Prince Hussein was 10, Prince Iman was 8 and Princess Salma was 4. They all wanted to see their mother. Joseph simply could not say no to them. He sent two body guards with the children to Westside Medical; he never suspected that they would be targets as well. Joseph would have gone with them, but he was committed to protect the King and he was a man who always kept his obligations.

**Sho Tokyo Kendo Dojo**

Chuck as usual had lost track of time. He was really getting into these classes, Minoru Sakae was his instructor. He was extremely knowledgeable and had seen many students come and go; however, the potential of one Chuck Bartowski was phenomenal. The way he had taken to Kendo fighting was truly amazing. Sakae was somewhat concerned; Chuck rarely showed it but there was a fire there just lying underneath the surface that was a little disconcerting.

Chuck had been coming to his Dojo for nearly two years. Chuck would show up and practice they would talk about life in general and in the future in particular. Chuck always had a vision about the future that included starting his own software company and marrying the girl of his dreams one Jill Roberts. However, when he came back this time it had been for nearly three months. His practices had increased exponentially. It was like Chuck had become engrossed in the sport. He rarely talked to anyone, and who ever practiced with him left battered and bruised. Chuck was no longer the jovial person that he remembered. He was serious, however; the worst part was that he was no longer practicing with the Kendo as a form of defense or to score points in competition, he was now practicing like his life was depending on it. The way Chuck was using the bamboo sticks he could almost foresee that whoever crossed paths with Chuck could meet a very bad end.

Chuck was wiping sweat off his face, having practiced for nearly three hours. Sakae came over smiling at Chuck, "Hey Chuck, may I have a word with you?"

"Sure Minoru."

"What troubles you my friend?"

"I do not know what you mean."

Sakae studied his friend for a long time. "The techniques that you are using are no longer for competition purposes, when you attack; you no longer are merciful with your opponents. Many of the other students no longer want to practice with you. Therefore, I again ask you, what troubles you Chuck?"

He had been caught and he knew it. Even though Chuck was leaving for UCLA in a week, he was grateful to Minoru Sakae for letting him use the facility for basically free training. He knew that he never would have gotten this far without him. The very last thing he wanted was to cause a rift with one of his few friends.

He swallowed hard, took a deep breath before he started explaining to his friend what had caused the change in attitude. Sakae was a good listener and for the next half hour he intently listened to Chuck tell him the sad story of what had occurred to him the last three months. The betrayal and hurt in his voice when it came to Jill, the absolute hatred and contempt that he had for Bryce Larkin was downright scary.

Finally Sakae spoke, "I know that right now there is not much that I can say to help you with what happened to your friend. Obviously this person who pretended to be your friend is beyond despicable, however, Chuck you are not someone I ever envisioned of wanting vengeance. For your own sake if for nothing else you must let go, learn to live again, enjoy life like you used to. If you don't it will eat you alive, change you as a person and you don't want that."

Chuck was going to respond when he saw the time, "Oh shit! I am late again! Ellie is going to kill me." Before he turned to go he looked at his friend one more time and gave him a small but sad smile. "I will take everything you said to me into consideration my friend. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your kind words, until we meet again." With that Chuck walked out of the Dojo and would not see his friend again for many years to come.

**West Side Medical**

Syrian state sponsor terrorism was just a fact of life. As a matter of fact that was what King Abdullah II was currently discussing with the State Department Officials. The President and the King share a common dislike for Syrian President Bashar Assad and his henchmen. However, organizations and people including Ramadan Shalah, the Secretary-General of Islamic Jihad; his deputy Ziad Nehaleh; Imad al-Alami, a senior Hamas operative; other leading Palestinians such as Ahmed Jibril, George Habash and Nayef Hawatmeh who live in Syria shared the same distain for the King and the President of the United States.

They were aware of the itinerary of the King and Queen of Jordan. They had been responsible for her food poisoning and now it was time to strike. A five men team rolled in with an ambulance, their objective was to kidnap the Queen and obtain some much needed concessions from King Abdullah II. With the love he felt for his wife, once they had her they were sure he would cave.

Two stayed in the ambulance as three other assassins got out with every intention of capturing her and taking her.

**Always the Hero**

Just about the same time Chuck had arrived at the hospital and he immediately went to see his sister at the emergency room.

Chuck knew Marsha Kerns, one of the nurses stationed in Emergency.

"Hey Marsha where is Ellie?"

"Chuck what are you doing with that bamboo stick?"

"It is too big for the trunk and I do not want to leave it in the car in case someone tries to steal it."

Marsha just shook her head, "Well your sister is taking care of a special patient, she is on the west side fifth floor, room 5112."

"Thanks Marsha."

"Um Chuck I do not think you will be able to get up there, the room is guarded."

"Who is my sister taking care of Al Capone?" Chuck was softly laughing.

"No, but whoever it is that person is important."

"Okay thanks Marsha."

Chuck was going to go leave her cell phone on the front desk of the fifth floor and leave.

The three assassins had asked for proper directions and shown the right credentials. They knew where the Queen was and that there were at least 2 to 3 police officers protecting her. As they moved in to the front lobby area and then took the elevator to the fifth floor one of the assassins spoke to the other two.

استخدم السكين وحاول عدم تقديم اى ضوضاء. بقتل كل من يقف فى طريقنا

("Use your knives and try not to make any noise. Kill anyone who stands in our way.")

Chuck was busy arguing with the nurse in the front desk who did not want to take Ellie's Cell phone.

"I am sorry Mr. Bartowski, My shift is almost up, and you are going to have to wait until she comes out or the night shift arrives."

When the elevator doors opened and the 3 assassins rolled in with the gurney for the Queen. The lead assassin looked at the Nurse and asked tersely "5112?"

The nurse pointed and said, "You will not be able to go in there while the doctor is attending to the patient."

"We will wait by the door." And all three started to move down the hall.

Something was not right about these guys Chuck thought, and with the nurse distracted he followed along behind them. Just then he saw Ellie walking out of a hospital room, clipboard in hand talking to one of the police officers. He could swear that by the look and the smile on the officer's face they were not talking about the patient.

The officer finally took noticed of the three assassins and held up his hand to stop them. One of the assassins pulled out a knife and threw it at the Officer's throat with great accuracy. The Officer dropped to the floor vainly clutching at his throat. Everything seemed to move in slow motion then.

Chuck started to move quickly towards his sister who had recovered from her shock and was attempting to sound the alarm when she was back handed by the assassin who had just killed the first officer. The second Officer was coming from the opposite direction he was carrying two cups of coffee and he saw the assassins at the same time they saw him. He dropped the coffees and attempted to pull his gun only to be met with the same fate as his partner. The other assassins were moving into the room with the Queen when they were met by a nurse taking her vitals.

They moved quickly and cut the nurses throat. One assassin covered the Queen's mouth and said to her,

إذا كنت تصرخ سنقتلكم

("If you cry out we will kill you!")

The lead assassin had pulled the knife out of the dead officer and was rounding on Ellie who wanted to scream but was roughly grabbed by the throat and slammed against the wall. He had every intention of finishing her off when a loud yell and a violent swing from the kendo stick met the assassins forearm.

It broke the bones in two places; the assassin did not have time to scream as Chuck backward swing caught him squarely in the back the air left his lungs with a loud whoosh. The assassin did his best to catch his breath but he simply could not do it and soon lost all consciousness.

The Queen was in the gurney, however, with all the commotion that was going on outside one of the assassins went to see what was going on. He was met at the door with a strike to his wrist, his knife clattered to the floor but he was not able to scream in pain like he wanted too because Chuck struck him on his head with three very quick and successive strikes. He was out cold before he hit the floor.

The last assassin threw his knife at Chuck who was able to partially deflect it to the left, however, not before it sliced his left shoulder. Chuck hissed in pain and backed up. That is when the last assassin made a fatal mistake. Instead of taking his gun out and shooting Chuck, he decided to pull out a very large knife and take Chuck on. Usually Chuck would have turned and ran from situations like this. He had never been a violent person.

However, this new attitude was all due to one Bryce Larkin. It was also due to the fact that Chuck Bartowski had just witnessed one of these scum bags tried to kill Ellie. To say that Chuck was in a violent rage would have been the understatement of the year. All he kept thinking was, 'They tried to kill Ellie! They were going to kill my sister; these pieces of shit will kill her if I fail. Well over my dead body, you will never touch my sister, never!'

The assassin who pulled the knife and charged, it was out in the hall where Chuck had plenty of room to maneuver. Chuck screamed and attacked as well. That kendo stick was a blur in his hands. The assassins attack was immediately stopped and he was now in a defensive position. He had underestimated his opponent and that would cost him dearly. After the second swing all he could do was to put his hands up and try to catch the stick before it could do much damage. That ended up being like trying to catch a bullet with your teeth. Chuck's third swing connected with his right collar bone cracking it and left a wide opening for Chuck to follow up with the same hit to the left collar bone.

The assassin was totally helpless. All Chuck thought about at that moment was, 'Not my sister.' The last swing connected directly with his left cheek bone sending blood and teeth spraying everywhere. What happened next even surprised Chuck? He made one more scream and was going to end this bastard miserable life when Ellie stopped him.

"Chuck, Chuck please Chuck stop. Please stop!" The cries from his sister finally got through to Chuck. He had never done this before since the Bryce incident, now it had happened twice in three months. What the hell was wrong with him? Chuck looked around dazed and confused and saw the carnage around him. He then dropped the Kendo stick and rushed over to Ellie and hugged her for dear life.

"Did they hurt you, are you all right?" He kept touching her face his hands trembling as he said this.

"I am alright Chuck, I am alright." Ellie said this though she was sobbing heavily.

The incident had drawn a large crowd which included the Queen's children and two body guards who quickly came to her aid. They looked around; the place was in total chaos. Security and the police had been called. Throughout it all, the Queen had not been able to take her eyes off the young man who had saved the day. The Queen was quickly surrounded by her crying children. She whispered in one of the body guard's ear, he bowed and led the children to another part of the hospital. The other body guard would not leave her side and looked menaceling at the unconscious assassins. The police and security had quickly arrived and cordoned off the area.

While the first body guard took the children to the cafeteria he called Joseph.

السير القتلة تحاول استغلال هذه الملكة ا

("Sir Assassins attempted to take the Queen.")

هل هى بخير

("Is she alright?")

نعم انها

("Yes she is.)

سابلغ الملك

("I will inform the King.")

**The blame game**

It had been total chaos outside the hospital as well; the other two assassins had escaped. When they saw all the police coming, they automatically knew that their plan had been thwarted. So they simply drove off.

A very angry Police Lieutenant wanted answers. When he got to the scene, he received the worst possible news, he had lost two men. He was beyond pissed; security should have been handled by a different agency. What surprised him was that Joseph and his men were in total agreement. The blame game was in full mode and in the offices of one of the hospital's administrators there was a yelling match going on.

"Lieutenant Waters it was believed that if the Queen had only regular police officers it would attract less attention, your Captain agreed."

"We were under the impression that your people would have guards outside the Hospital Agent Andrews, what happened!"

"We were told they would not be needed." An embarrassed Agent retorted weakly.

"By whom?" An inquisitive Agent Joseph asked.

"It says here by your Office Lieutenant."

"Did anyone bother to confirm this request Agent Andrews?" Lieutenant Waters was highly skeptical and extremely sarcastic at this point.

All Agent Andrews could do was shake his head no. "I don't get it Agent Andrews, you have a high value target, an important head of state and you do not bother to ask for conformation on conflicting orders!" Lieutenant Waters had about enough with these State Department pricks.

Agent Andrews was caught, it had not been his responsibility but Lieutenant Waters and Agent Joseph were right, so he dropped he 'cover your ass persona and said the best thing the other two men could herd.'

"You know what gentlemen you are right, we screwed up clear and simple. Of course that is the best case scenario; the worst case scenario is that we have a traitor in our mist that allowed this to happen. Lieutenant please accept my deepest apology for the loss of you men." And just like that, Joseph and Lieutenant Waters knew they were dealing with a good guy.

They shook hands and Agent Andrews told Agent Joseph, "We will no longer be opposed for your people protecting your Queen."

"Thank you that is a great relief to us."

Agent Andrews smiled, "Don't thank me, thank that young man who saved the day."

Agent Joseph had not talked to his men yet so he did not exactly know what had happened. "What young man?"

Lieutenant Andrews got up and said, "Let's go talk to him, I have never been more impressed with anyone in my life."

**Sisterly Love**

Devon had come over as soon as he had heard what had happened. He arrived just as the Lieutenant and Agent Joseph did.

"Chuckster!"

Chuck was now sitting, once the adrenalin had left him, the cut on his upper shoulder started to bother him a lot. The reason no one had noticed was that he had a marooned color button down shirt on. Now he was dragging and his face looked a little ashen.

"Hey Dev." He said kind of in a muted tone.

"Dude are you ok?"

"Well you know."

Devon was moving closer to Chuck, but Agent Joseph was the first one to notice. "This man is hurt."

Devon went to grab Chuck, who quickly avoided his right hand. "What's wrong Chuck?"

"My left shoulder," Chuck said grimacing.

Devon took a look, "Damn bro that is a nasty cut. Why did you not say anything?"

"It's not that bad, there were people who needed attention much more than I did."

All three men were highly impressed; the cut was at least 5 inches long. "Well you keep impressing me more and more every day Chuck, what you did today was impressive."

"Devon they were going to kill Ellie, Ellie! Over my dead body!" Chuck was getting emotional again.

Joseph inquired, "Ellie?"

Devon responded, "Yes that is the doctor that is taking care of the Queen, she is my girlfriend and Chuck is her brother."

"Come on Bro let's take a look at that cut."

Chuck may have been hurting, was maybe a little weak, but the very thought of being stuck with a needle or stitched up, simply were not his way of being rewarded for his heroism.

"You know what Devon, why don't we talk when you get home, I...I am fine yeah, it is time for me to leave, a little Neosporin and I am good to go. Gentlemen nice to meet you see you later Bro."

Chuck was well renowned for his rambling, some would consider it cute, as a matter of fact the three men he was talking too thought is was funny after all they were chuckling because they knew what Chuck was up too. Unfortunately for Chuck, Ellie had checked her sense of humor at the door. This was the same woman who had placed a cast on Chuck's foot when he sprained it.

"Oh hey sis," Chuck kissed her in the cheek, "Well El here is your cell phone, I will see you back at the apartment."

When Ellie was in total mama sister mode, she had a tendency of barking orders and growling when she did it.

"Sit."

"But El..."

A growl came from Ellie and Chuck immediately did as he was told. "Remove your shirt."

"But El..."Growl "Ok, Ok"

He took his shirt off and visibly winced and when he started to pull off the shirt that was slightly sticking because of the dried blood.

"Oh my god! You are bleeding!" Ellie was all over Chuck like he had lost a limb. "When were you going to tell me about this Chuck?" Her eyes started to well up.

Chuck looked over to Devon who took his cue and stepped up for his future brother in law. "El, take it easy, Chuck is going to be fine."

"Take it easy; take it easy, I almost lost my baby brother! That is my baby brother!"

While Ellie went into one of her rants, Agent Joseph stepped us and introduced him, "Mr. Bartowski on behave of the King and Queen of Jordan we want to thank you for your brave act today."

"Thank you," Chuck's genuine smile told Joseph that this young man was humble.

"I just got off the phone with the King and he would very much like to meet you."

Just then Ellie finished her rant by saying, "Ok fine you stitch him up!"

Then Ellie rounded on Chuck "And you!" She started sobbing again; Chuck came over to Ellie and hugged her tenderly.

Chuck whispered in her ear, "I love you too El." He held her lovingly and kissed her in her forehead. "You are the best sis, you know that right." Neither one of them could get over the fact that they almost lost each other. At that moment Ellie had never been prouder or loved her brother more, and Chuck felt the exact same way of his sister.

**Eventful Meeting**

It had been a long day, with the long Kendo practice, saving the day, being asked to repeat the events of the day like 10 times to the police, and now a painful stitching, Chuck was ready to lie down and sleep for a week. As a matter of fact he fell asleep.

Ellie had asked Devon if Chuck had gone home. The King and the children were in the Queen's room and they had asked about Chuck. King Abdullah II had been very subtle asking Ellie all kinds of things about Chuck, what he was studying, if he was in a relationship, what his likes and dislikes were, hobbies etc. Ellie being Ellie gave much more information about Chuck than she should have given. However, the information that she had provided had reinforced the opinion of the Royal family that Chuck was an honorable and humble man.

Devon found Chuck in the same room he had left him when he stitched him up. Devon shook him awake, "Hey Bro," Devon chuckled softly, "You had one hell of a nap."

"What time is it?"

"Seven at night."

"Damn I have been out for three hours?"

"Yep," Said Devon as he handed Chuck a cup of coffee.

"Thanks, Devon."

"Listen Chuck Ellie just called me and she wants you to meet the King and Queen of Jordan who are anxious to meet you."

"Ahh, Devon I do not have a shirt."

"No problem here." Devon gave Chuck a UCLA shirt and Chuck just shook his head and chuckled softly.

"What? I did not think you would mind, you are going to finish up your degree there after all."

"I know but it still feels a little bit strange."

Chuck made his way to the Queen's room, he was immediately stopped and the guards were starting to search him when Joseph stopped the guards, smiled and waved Chuck into the room.

"You look much better than you did a few hours ago." Smiled Joseph.

"Thanks I think." Replied Chuck.

As soon as he stepped into the room all the occupants lit up the room with similes. The King stepped up held out his hand and shook Chuck's hand warningly.

"Thank you for being there today for my wife, without you I just do not want to think what may have occurred."

"Thank you sir, I really think I was lucky and caught those men by surprised."

"Honesty, that is very impressive Mr. Bartowski."

"Please sir call me Chuck, my friends do, and I like to consider you my friend."

"Alright Chuck, please sit we would like to get to know you a little better."

They had a wonderful conversation, the Queen started to notice that Chuck took a liking to her children and they to Chuck, he started showing them about the video games on his cell phone and their 10 year old really liked it. Without realizing it the 4 year old girl moved to Chuck's lap and he held her gently while showing the boys more tricks with his cell phone.

King Abdullah II then asked Chuck, "So what are your plans Chuck?"

"Well, I have registered for UCLA and plan to finish my Engineering degree, than after that I plan to start my own software company."

"Don't you need capital to start your business?"

"Of course you are right, I will have to work and save. It probably will take me a couple of years but I am confident I will get there."

"Well what about this, we need our internet and intranet secured. Currently I am not happy with our network security. Would you be interest in handling a job like that?"

"Your majesty not that I am not honored but there are many competent network security people with much more experience than I have."

"That maybe the case Chuck, but the operative word here would be trust. All things considered I will take trust every time. So what do you say Chuck would you be interested?"

"How can I possibly decline, of course I would be interested."

"Good within a week we will be sending you a contract that I am sure you will find most satisfying."

"Thank you your majesty I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

Queen Rania who had been quiet throughout the entire conversation started chucking. "My darling someone needs to take Princess Salma, I think she thinks that Chuck makes a good pillow." Everyone broke out laughing.

**Graduation**

The winter term had flown by. Chuck had been in constant communications with the Royal family. When he had received the contract he had been blown away. He could not believe they were offering him one hundred thousand dollars. He calculated that the job would take him three months to complete.

Chuck had asked and received every bit of information needed to know, what kind of system they had, and how he would be able to best upgrade their system. He was so grateful and started liking these people so much that he decided to create the Queen and her family a hacker proof website. The Royal family was becoming more and more impressed with Chuck and his abilities.

Ellie had been very excited; she had been planning a party for her brother just like she usually planned for him on his birthday. She was so proud of him. Chuck was finally achieving his goal of getting his engineering degree. Ever since the hospital incident Chuck could do no wrong. However, if she was going to be totally honest she was happy and sad with Chuck's next adventure. She was very happy that he had decided to take the job of improving the network and internet security. That was certainly prestigious and the contract he signed was simply terrific. However, that said the Middle East was a dangerous place, and the fact that he was so far away was certainly a concern.

So there they were all smiles as Chuck took his diploma. He really could not believe it; he had accomplished something that had been his goal for a long time. He had fought through all the pain and betrayal to achieve his ultimate goal. However, he would never forget his buddy Jim Collins. Chuck looked up to the skies and once again thanked his buddy for saving him that faithful day, "I will make you proud of me Jim."

He never would forget his friend or the bastard that had caused his death. 'I will never forget you either Bryce, pay back is a bitch.' If Chuck had been looking he might of noticed Jill in disguised at the very back of the line. She was so proud of him, felt so horrible for what she had done and had always promised herself that she would watch over him.

It had not taken long for the CIA to restore the files that had been destroyed in Professor Fleming's office. However, Jill had managed to once again do something to save Chuck. She had switched his photo for that of his dead friend; therefore, they were once again spinning their wheels. By the time they would find out their mistake Chuck would be out of the country.

A tear rolled down Jill's cheek, even though she knew they would never be together, Jill promised herself she would try to be his guardian angel.

**Saying Goodbye **

The big day had finally arrived, Morgan, Ellie and Devon had taken Chuck to LA EX. King Abdullah II had purchased a ticket for Chuck in Royal Jordanian Airlines. It was a non stop fight of over 20 hours. Chuck was happy he brought several things to entertain him during the flight.

He turned to his family a real smile on his face, "Well guys this is it."

Devon smiled and shook his hand; he said something to him that would be true for a long time to come. "This is the first day of the rest of your life."

"Wow Devon never took you for a philosophical person."

"I have my moments." They both had a good laugh.

Then Chuck turned to his best friend, "Now Morgan promise you are going to behave."

"I always behave Chuck."

"Really Morgan? Man if my sister catches you in her underwire drawer again she is going to beat the living crap out of you."

"Umm...Chuck I got lost going to the bathroom."

"Morgan you know that is a lie."

"Hey that is my story and I am sticking to it."

Chuck just shook his head. He had allowed Morgan to use his XBOX while he was away. Chuck just hoped that he had not made a huge mistake.

Chuck stepped up to his sister, "I am going to miss you El."

"Me too little brother make sure you call me as soon as you arrive."

"I will sis, just one thing please don't kill Morgan."

"Only if he stays out of my underwire drawer."

"I know just cut him some slack for me please."

"Chuck when you get back we are going to have a serious conversation concerning your man child friend. He really gets on my nerves sometimes."

Chuck swallowed hard, he knew his sister was right, but Morgan growing up? No way in hell. He hugged his sister tightly; little did he know that it would be a while before he would be able to hug her again. He kissed her one more time, "I love you El. take care."

With that he waved goodbye to his little family, boarded the flight and was soon in the air. Chuck would always remember this moment. He was leaving his family for what he thought was a three to four month adventure, he would never have guessed that this adventure would be life changing experience that had just begun.


End file.
